Living on Borrowed Time is the new album from Darkmen, it was released on the 27 April 2012 on EKP records. Darkmen are a duo from Belgium formed in 2005. They have released demo and remix albums in the past. The duo consists of Franky Deblomme (vocals, music and lyrics) and Thomas Vrambout (drums and lyrics). Their influences include Daf, Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. Their music is described as Electronic Body Music (EBM), old school EBM, and industrial. Living on Borrowed Time is full of raw energy which leaves you with no other option than to move, with some driving basslines and classic synth melodies. Be prepared to be hit hard, it doesn’t take any prisoners. It brings together some fast aggressive tracks and some slower dark moody ones.
Standout tracks on the albums include Legs Like Gold, Liar, Run and Hide and We Are Hard. The first track Stahlwerk sets the tone for the album. It is essentially an instrumental track which sounds like its taking place in vast empty foundry; it lays the foundations for what is to following. Legs like Gold, continues the industrial sound, with a relentless bassline. Liar has a very dark and intense mood to it, which perfectly suits the hard lyrics. Run and Hide, has some dark thundering synths throughout. We are Hard is fast paced; a nice touch is the howling backing vocals which sound amazing. There are some really impressive synth melodies hidden throughout this track. The tracks from twelve to sixteen consist of some interesting remixes of Legs Like Gold and We Are Hard, all having a very different feel.
Overall Living on Borrowed Time is fast paced and hard hitting, it has all the essentials of a classic ebm album. On first impressions Darkmen’s sound seems stripped down but on closer inspection it becomes a lot more sophisticated. This album will keep you coming back for more and it doesn’t lose any of its initial high energy and aggressiveness.